Employer's Liability on W4's

montana

Hi! This is my first time on. I am employed at a Credit Union and wear many hats....one of which is HR(my favorite!)

We are updating our W4's. We have a few employees insisting on checking the filing status box as "married" and they are not married. We also have one employee marking more allowances than dependents. Do we (the employer) have any liability regarding this?

Rockie

I'll take a stab at this. It's not your job to "police" employees as to what they claim on a W-4. It's called providing false information to the IRS, which, I believe is still a felony in this country. You might advise the employee that they would be in a world of hurt if they got audited by the IRS and are found to have filed a bogus W-4.

Also, I believe you can claim up to either 8 or 9 deductions before it sends a red flag to the IRS. Many folks use "creative accounting" to get more take home pay by claiming more deductions. Sometimes they get a nasty surprise at the end of the year when the find out what they owe!

Anyway, just my two cents worth.

TN HR

There is absolutely nothing illegal about claiming 100 exemptions on your W4. At the end of the year, your tax liability is what it is.

Word of caution, the IRS WILL impose a penalty for underwitholding, but, interestingly enough, not for the opposite.

Gene

Don D

I agree with TN. Personally, I check 'single' on several W-4s that I keep current. I also have always shown fewer dependants than I have. A person is allowed to manipulate those boxes in order to adjust the taxes withheld. You are not certifying that you are married if you check married. You are only stating you want taxes withheld at that rate. And in my case, I'm only asking that more tax be withheld, at the single rate, not certifying under penalty of perjury that I am single.